Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there are mentions of matters sexual and violent, but they are glancing references, nothing more. There is some mild swearing.
Families can talk about the general historical background, and Hitler's specific views of art. Why would controlling art have been so important to a dictator like Hitler? Why would others risk their lives for it? What could make a painting so important? Also, the author is sometimes very subtle, and even gifted readers may need some help sorting out the story.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
One way to divide children's authors is this: those who lower themselves to the level of their readers (as they perceive it, which is sometimes very low indeed); and those who, believing in the intelligence of their readers, lift them up to a higher level. Veteran author E.L. Konigsburg has always been firmly in the latter category, and never more so than here.
All of the classic Konigsburg themes are here: precociously gifted children, mystery, art history, a brilliantly flamboyant and cantankerous old woman, and deep friendship. Her story is gorgeous and fascinating, but subtle; She is not one to spell everything out for her readers, preferring instead to leave arch and tantalizing hints so that they can figure things out for themselves.
This is clearly not for everyone, or even for most. Konigsburg not only writes about gifted children, she expects her experienced readers to be equally clever, to be comfortable with ambiguity and sophisticated vocabulary (or at least willing to look things up), and to be willing not only to read, but to think. If that describes your child, he or she may love this. If it doesn't, but you wish it did, a better place to start would be the author's more accessible From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
From The Book
Maybe because St. Malo was flat instead of vertical, maybe because Mrs. Zender had been part of the neighborhood for a long time or maybe because the neighbors whose houses sparkled -- they all did -- resented the fact that Mrs. Zender's house did not, people talked. Between the time Amedeo Kaplan used her turquoise princess dial-up phone and the time he stepped off the bus into a cloud of lovebugs, Amedeo had heard enough of Mrs. Zender's story to know he wanted to know more.
Plot Summary:
Soon after moving to a small town in the Florida panhandle, Amadeo meets some intriguing characters. There's schoolmate William, who "had a self-assurance that inspired awe or fear or both." And there's his neighbor, Mrs. Zender: "Amadeo had never seen anyone dressed like that except when he was in an audience."
Mrs. Zender, about to move into a retirement community, has hired William's mother, an estate liquidator. Amadeo, fascinated by both of them, and hoping one day to make an important discovery, volunteers to help with sorting through the mansion. Meanwhile, his godfather, Peter, a museum curator, is preparing for an exhibition of art considered degenerate by the Nazis. This gives Amadeo the background to recognize a mystery both artistic and historical among the fragments of Mrs. Zender's strange life.
Related Books:
Other Books by E.L. Konigsburg:
About the B'nai Bagels
Altogether, One at a Time
The Dragon in the Ghetto Caper
Father's Arcane Daughter
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
(George)
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth
Journey to an 800 Number
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
The Second Mrs. Giaconda
T-Backs, T-Shirts, COAT, and Suit
Throwing Shadows
Up from Jericho Tel
The View from Saturday
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place
Silent to the Bone
More Art Mysteries:
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett
Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce
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Sexual ContentReferences to sperm, a prostitute, nude portraits, mating lovebugs, and fans who want to sleep with a star. A character is homosexual. |
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ViolenceReferences to spousal abuse, suicide, and Van Gogh's ear. |
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Language"Damn," "hell," references to "the S word" and "the F word." |
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Social BehaviorQuotes from an art catalog give Hitler's racist views about Blacks and Jews. |
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CommercialismDepartment store, fast food. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoMrs. Zender drinks champagne. |
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